Abandon ship: Amsterdam’s oldest houseboat set to be removed

Despite dogged determination to escape death in the scrapyard, Amsterdam’s oldest houseboat, The Dogger, is set to be removed from the canal. ⛵️

The houseboat will disembark from its current home in the Prinsengracht, reports Het Parool.

Built in 1865, The Dogger was originally responsible for keeping Amsterdam’s breweries afloat by carrying water to them — before being moved to its current location in 1888.

READ MORE | 5 questions people ask about living on a houseboat

Although intended to be taken out of the water every seven years, The Dogger’s keel has not touched land for 134 years. The rust on its exterior speaks of sad years of neglect. 🤕

Wat jammer!

Too high to pass under the low bridges that surround it, The Dogger cannot sail out of the Prinsengracht for repairs. This, according to owner Jeroen Elsen, renders it uninsurable.

In fact, all offers of insurance would bring conversations to a halt harder than a cargo ship in the Suez Canal when Elsen mentioned the boat being 157 years old! 👨🏼‍🦳

He also explains that if the 96 ton boat were to sink, it’d likely block the channel entirely. This would disrupt all traffic up and down the canal, and result in a huge liability for Elsen. Talk about being caught between a rock and a…errr, heavy place! ⚓️

READ MORE | Renting a boat in the Netherlands: all you need to know

To add insult to injury, some in the local community around the Prinsengracht have even labelled The Dogger an eyesore! 

Thankfully, Elsen notes that many others see it as a beautiful boat, and will be sad to see it gone.

It seems the ship has sailed

The Dogger was actually saved from removal by public support once before. In 1996, the public rallied around the vessel after a radio message drummed up support for its salvation.

However, given the state of the boat, it doesn’t seem likely that this will happen a second time.

But don’t worry, history-lovers — archaeologically-important items from the vessel will be saved while it’s in the process of being dismantled.

A brief glimpse at a floating blast from the past!

Have you spotted The Dogger in your wanderings around Amsterdam? How do you feel about its removal? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Liana Pereira 🇱🇰
Liana Pereira 🇱🇰
Liana juggles her role as an Editor with wrapping up a degree in cognitive linguistics and assisting with DutchReview's affiliate portfolio. Since arriving in the Netherlands for her studies in 2018, she's thrilled to have the 'write' opportunity to help other internationals feel more at home here — whether that's by penning an article on the best SIMs to buy in NL, the latest banking features, or important things to know about Dutch health insurance.

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